Balloon Bomb - Bly, OR
N 42° 24.417 W 121° 02.928
10T E 660562 N 4696804
This 'Beaver Board' is located just off of Hwy 140, on the right, heading east, at a rest stop in Bly, OR.
Waymark Code: WMEQQC
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 06/28/2012
Views: 4
Marker Name: OREGON HISTORY - Balloon Bomb
Marker Location: At a rest stop on the right side of Hwy 140, heading into Bly, OR.
Marker Text:
Very near here, on a warm spring day in 1945, six people-a woman and five children-were killed by a Japanese "balloon bomb," or Fugo. They party had arrived for a picnic when they discovered the deflated balloon. While they gathered around the strange device, it exploded. These were the only known civilian causalities of the World War II within the continental US.
The bombs were launched 6,000 miles away in Japan and deployed in retaliation of US bombing raids on Japanese soil. The Japanese military hoped that squadrons of these Fugo would ignite fires, creating terror and panic. Despite the success of the devices in reaching North America (nearly 10,0000 were launched, and at least 300 made it across the Pacific), the mission was ultimately deemed a failure.
Few bombs did any real damage, and most detonated over remote areas. The US government ordered media to keep silent about the balloon bombs, and with no news of the weapons' arrival, Japan abandoned the attack.
Directions to Mitchell Monument: The Mitchell Monument (which marks the site where the bomb exploded) is located east of Bly. From Bly travel Highway 140 east to Campbell Road. Take a left on Campbell Road to Forest Service Road 34. The Mitchell Monument is located approximately ten miles east on Road 34.
There was also a great movie called 'On Paper Wings' documenting the history of the Balloon Bombs and the Japanese women behind the making of these bombs and the guilt that many of these women faced years later, after discovering that the bombs they helped to make indirectly caused the tragic loss of life on American soil. Click the link below to visit the movie web site and learn more about it.
On Paper Wings website
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